Let’s talk a minute about goals. Do you have goals for your life?
Goals are important so that you know where your life is headed. Many teens go through school without a real purpose, and without much thought they pick a career. Usually they end up changing majors two or three times during college. Wouldn’t it be better to think ahead of time than to make a mistake? We certainly believe that would be better. If you’ve never thought about the goals you have in life, why not take a minute now to think of them and write down a few. Here are some areas that you should have goals in and some questions to ask yourself…

Education/Career

What am I doing to consistently get good grades?
Am I aware of my possible talents and areas of work I would enjoy?
Am I putting myself in a position to be the best student I can possibly be?
What are things I could avoid that might be distracting me from my education?
What is most important for my future?

Relationships

What are the characteristics I want in my partner and need to develop in myself?
Are my wants/needs healthy or will they become a distraction?
What kind of boundaries should I put on my future relationships?

Future Family

How are the choices I’m making right now going to affect my future family?
Am I preparing myself to be the best father/mother I could possibly be?
Will my children have a good example to follow when they reach the teen years?
Am I developing the character traits I would want in my future wife/husband?

Once you write down your goals, it’s time to develop a plan for achieving them. However, once you develop your plan you have to follow it up with the way you live. A plan never becomes a reality until it is acted upon. You have to decide what behaviors and activities stop you from being successful. This goes from school work, to family life, to relationships. Once you have a clear focus on what you need to do, start acting out your plan right now.
Choices today will affect your future. If you begin to make healthy choices now, you will have a healthy future. If you make poor choices now you will have a harder time turning that around once you get older.

The choice is up to you. Set some goals for your life and be the best you can be!